Venue Spotlight: How We Stream NPC Universe at the Teaneck Marriott
A great venue makes all the difference—but not every great venue is built for live streaming.
At the NPC Universe Championships, held annually at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe, we were tasked with delivering seamless, professional livestream coverage under real-time pressure.
From ballroom layouts to Wi-Fi conditions, hotel-based events bring unique challenges—and opportunities. Here’s how C King Media adapted our livestream setup to match this venue’s quirks while working alongside Fit X Imagery to provide consistent multi-day coverage.
Why the Teaneck Marriott Was a Strategic Advantage
As a regular host of national bodybuilding events, the Teaneck Marriott offers:
Spacious ballrooms for staging, seating, and vendor setup
Reliable staging and lighting options
Proximity to major highways and airports (ideal for competitors)
Familiarity with production crews like ours—making coordination easier
That said, no venue is plug-and-play when it comes to livestreaming. You still need to know the space and prep accordingly.
Our Live Streaming Setup for This Venue
For NPC Universe, we designed a modular setup that allowed us to:
Position cameras without blocking audience views
Use low-profile tripods to avoid interference with photographers
Tap into venue audio for emcee voice and stage music
Leverage both wired and wireless internet backup systems
Set up a remote control station with line of sight to the stage
Because we had filmed at this venue the previous year, we came in with a strategy—cutting down setup time while increasing reliability.
Working in Tandem with Fit X Imagery
As our photography partner, Fit X Imagery was capturing high-res stills of every athlete while we handled the live stream. That meant:
Coordinated camera positions
Shared lighting setups to avoid interference
Real-time timing checks to ensure overlap between divisions didn’t create downtime or gaps in coverage
This kind of alignment meant athletes didn’t just look good on stage—they looked good on screen.
Technical Lessons for Hotel-Based Live Streaming
If you’re planning to stream from a hotel like the Teaneck Marriott—or anywhere similar in the DMV—keep in mind:
Venue internet is often unreliable: Always bring bonded cellular or redundant streaming options
Soundboards vary: Test connections in advance or bring your own mic system
Room lighting shifts: Adjust white balance and exposure constantly
Load-in/load-out may be tight: Communicate early with venue staff
At NPC Universe, these lessons were already baked into our workflow.
Final Thought
Venues like the Teaneck Marriott offer convenience, flexibility, and scale. But they’re only as good as your setup.
At C King Media, we’ve live streamed events in hotels, churches, funeral homes, and outdoor arenas—and we treat each location as its own production studio. The goal is the same: to make the broadcast feel effortless, even when it’s not.